bah007
Hall of Fame
I used my own evaluations plus looked at a variety of boards to get an idea of where guys would fall off the board. Due to our current roster construction and management style, drafting for the Texans is like fighting with one hand tied behind your back. It is going to be hard to get a lot out of this draft class considering what we have for draft capital. I am going to get a little creative to try to get the most out of the picks we have. Here is what I would do this weekend:
These are the guys at the top of my board for the Texans, in order of my preference. My main priority in this draft is to get one of these guys without giving up any future picks.
A.J. Epenesa
Jaylon Johnson
Yetur Gross-Matos
Kristian Fulton
Cesar Ruiz
Jeff Gladney
Based on the consensus boards I've collected, I have all of these guys off the board by #40, but I do have Jaylon Johnson available at #37. I have the Titans picking there after trading down. I have them targeting Zack Baun. I'm going to pull the trigger and move from #40 to #37. This will cost us #111 and #240, but we can bring back #151 and TEN's 6th rounder next season. And they will still get their guy.
My next priority is to get us a pass rusher. I'll be honest, this is not a good draft for them. Most of my targets fall off the board before we come back up, and we don't have any ammo to go get them. After the run on edge players, I think we can safely move back a few spots and pick up one of our bottom targets. We give up #90 and #248 so the Broncos can move up to take Leki Fotu. We get back #95 and #181. I used Rich Hill's updated trade value chart to score the trades. They feel fair.
Here is my draft:
#2.37 - Jaylon Johnson - CB, Utah
#3.95 - Jabari Zuniga - OLB, Florida
#5.151 - John Hightower - WR, Boise St
#5.171 - Benito Jones - NT, Mississippi
#6.181 - Kevin Dotson - OG, Louisiana Lafayette
#7.250 - Javon Leake - RB, Maryland
And here is what we have for next year's draft:
3rd
4th
4th (ARI)
5th
6th
6th (MIA)
6th (TEN)
7th
Here is our top 55 after the draft:
QB - Watson, McCarron
RB - Da. Johnson, Du. Johnson, Leake, Howell
FB - Gillaspia
WR Z - Cooks, Fuller, Hightower
WR H - Cobb, Stills, Carter
TE - Fells, Akins, Thomas, Warring
LT - Tunsil, R. Johnson
LG - Scharping
C - Martin, Mancz
RG - Fulton, Dotson
RT - Howard, Qvale
Leake gives us depth at RB. I think he is a very underrated prospect. He would immediately be our best interior runner. The rest of his game is raw but I think he has potential to be a big part of a committee. He didn't test well at the combine but he looks like an athlete on tape.
Hightower pretty much rides the bench on offense this year but he is probably our #3 WR next season after Fuller and Stills walk. I love his deep speed. I think he runs good routes and has great hands. We get him late thanks to a deep WR draft. He can also help out on special teams.
Dotson handles interior backup duties for a year and then steps in for Fulton next season. I think he will be a starting guard in the league. Best case scenario, he beats Fulton out this season.
DE - Watt, Omenihu
NT - Dunn, Jones
DT - Jernigan, Blackson, Watkins
LEO - Mercilus, Zuniga, Martin, Ejiofor
WILL - Cunningham, Cole, Adams
MIKE - McKinney, Kalambayi
FCB - Conley, Gaines
Slot - Roby, Hargreaves
FS - Reid, Watkins
SS - Gipson, Murray
BCB - J. Johnson, L. Johnson
Jones gets in the interior rotation early. He can be a two-down NT but also has the ability to push the pocket and pressure the QB. He will be a starter by year two.
Zuniga is raw but man he is an impressive athlete. He was inconsistent in college but his flashes were something special. LZ comps him to Robert Quinn. I could see it if he rounds his game out. Put him in the film room and on the practice field with Watt and Mercilus and watch this guy turn into an animal over time. He will be a liability against the run at first but he will absolutely bend the corner and get after the QB.
Jaylon gives us the alpha corner we desperately need. Put him on the boundary and take that receiver out of the game. Put Conley and Roby to the field and let them cover and make plays in space. Suddenly, our secondary doesn't look awful. Reid can play over the top. Gipson and Murray can cover TEs and help with slots. Gaines and Hargreaves aren't terrible if they are part of a rotation instead of playing every snap in coverage.
Just my two cents. Tear it apart.
These are the guys at the top of my board for the Texans, in order of my preference. My main priority in this draft is to get one of these guys without giving up any future picks.
A.J. Epenesa
Jaylon Johnson
Yetur Gross-Matos
Kristian Fulton
Cesar Ruiz
Jeff Gladney
Based on the consensus boards I've collected, I have all of these guys off the board by #40, but I do have Jaylon Johnson available at #37. I have the Titans picking there after trading down. I have them targeting Zack Baun. I'm going to pull the trigger and move from #40 to #37. This will cost us #111 and #240, but we can bring back #151 and TEN's 6th rounder next season. And they will still get their guy.
My next priority is to get us a pass rusher. I'll be honest, this is not a good draft for them. Most of my targets fall off the board before we come back up, and we don't have any ammo to go get them. After the run on edge players, I think we can safely move back a few spots and pick up one of our bottom targets. We give up #90 and #248 so the Broncos can move up to take Leki Fotu. We get back #95 and #181. I used Rich Hill's updated trade value chart to score the trades. They feel fair.
Here is my draft:
#2.37 - Jaylon Johnson - CB, Utah
#3.95 - Jabari Zuniga - OLB, Florida
#5.151 - John Hightower - WR, Boise St
#5.171 - Benito Jones - NT, Mississippi
#6.181 - Kevin Dotson - OG, Louisiana Lafayette
#7.250 - Javon Leake - RB, Maryland
And here is what we have for next year's draft:
3rd
4th
4th (ARI)
5th
6th
6th (MIA)
6th (TEN)
7th
Here is our top 55 after the draft:
QB - Watson, McCarron
RB - Da. Johnson, Du. Johnson, Leake, Howell
FB - Gillaspia
WR Z - Cooks, Fuller, Hightower
WR H - Cobb, Stills, Carter
TE - Fells, Akins, Thomas, Warring
LT - Tunsil, R. Johnson
LG - Scharping
C - Martin, Mancz
RG - Fulton, Dotson
RT - Howard, Qvale
Leake gives us depth at RB. I think he is a very underrated prospect. He would immediately be our best interior runner. The rest of his game is raw but I think he has potential to be a big part of a committee. He didn't test well at the combine but he looks like an athlete on tape.
Hightower pretty much rides the bench on offense this year but he is probably our #3 WR next season after Fuller and Stills walk. I love his deep speed. I think he runs good routes and has great hands. We get him late thanks to a deep WR draft. He can also help out on special teams.
Dotson handles interior backup duties for a year and then steps in for Fulton next season. I think he will be a starting guard in the league. Best case scenario, he beats Fulton out this season.
DE - Watt, Omenihu
NT - Dunn, Jones
DT - Jernigan, Blackson, Watkins
LEO - Mercilus, Zuniga, Martin, Ejiofor
WILL - Cunningham, Cole, Adams
MIKE - McKinney, Kalambayi
FCB - Conley, Gaines
Slot - Roby, Hargreaves
FS - Reid, Watkins
SS - Gipson, Murray
BCB - J. Johnson, L. Johnson
Jones gets in the interior rotation early. He can be a two-down NT but also has the ability to push the pocket and pressure the QB. He will be a starter by year two.
Zuniga is raw but man he is an impressive athlete. He was inconsistent in college but his flashes were something special. LZ comps him to Robert Quinn. I could see it if he rounds his game out. Put him in the film room and on the practice field with Watt and Mercilus and watch this guy turn into an animal over time. He will be a liability against the run at first but he will absolutely bend the corner and get after the QB.
Jaylon gives us the alpha corner we desperately need. Put him on the boundary and take that receiver out of the game. Put Conley and Roby to the field and let them cover and make plays in space. Suddenly, our secondary doesn't look awful. Reid can play over the top. Gipson and Murray can cover TEs and help with slots. Gaines and Hargreaves aren't terrible if they are part of a rotation instead of playing every snap in coverage.
Just my two cents. Tear it apart.